Penn State will celebrate the accomplishments of its graduates across the commonwealth during its spring 2025 commencement ceremonies, the majority of which will be held Friday, May 9, through Sunday, May 11.

Penn State campuses to hold spring 2025 commencement ceremonies May 9-11 | Penn State University

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Penn State will celebrate the accomplishments of its graduates across the commonwealth during its spring 2025 commencement ceremonies, the majority of which will be held Friday, May 9, through Sunday, May 11.

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Campus Life

Academics

Penn State campuses to hold spring 2025 commencement ceremonies May 9-11

Health and Human Development

College of Health and Human Development

Adults should sleep between seven and nine hours a night, according to the National Institutes of Health. For moms, that can drop to less than five hours per night for the first year or two after having a baby. Now, researchers are beginning to understand how a mother’s sleep quality is a pathway to the quality of her parenting and attachment to her child.

Q&A: Why sleep might be the best Mother’s Day gift | Penn State University

Adults should sleep between seven and nine hours a night, according to the National Institutes of Health. For moms, that can drop to less than five hours per night for the first year or two after having a baby. Now, researchers are beginning to understand how a mother’s sleep quality is a pathway to the quality of her parenting and attachment to her child.

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Research

Q&A: Why sleep might be the best Mother’s Day gift

Husband and wife Army veterans Joel and Vanezza Rodriguez will graduate together from Penn State together during Penn State's spring 2025 commencement ceremonies. The two had planned on careers in the military, but they decided to go back to school to learn how to continue helping people.

From soldiers to students: Husband, wife will graduate from Penn State together | Penn State University

Husband and wife Army veterans Joel and Vanezza Rodriguez will graduate together from Penn State together during Penn State's spring 2025 commencement ceremonies. The two had planned on careers in the military, but they decided to go back to school to learn how to continue helping people.

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From soldiers to students: Husband, wife will graduate from Penn State together

State council adopts recommendation for performance-based funding model

Biological physicist Réka Albert elected to National Academy of Sciences

The Medical Minute: Stroke, the women’s condition no one talks about

Elm trees at University Park to be sprayed at sunrise on May 12

‘New One Night on Broadway' takes Centre Stage with Penn State Theatre alumni

Climate Solutions Symposium registration open until May 12

$2.7M NIH grant to fund first comprehensive syphilis test

Parking and transit changes for summer 2025 at University Park

The Medical Minute: What does it mean to have dense breasts?

Community groups partner to create ‘988’ coins to support suicide prevention

Penn State to present premiere of 'True Crime Frankenstein'

Tickets go on sale starting April 30 to see astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson

Spring 2025 commencement parking information for University Park

Filmmaker and professor Pearl Gluck named 2025–26 Penn State Laureate

Five Nittany Lions taken in 2025 NFL Draft

$8.5 million estate pledge crowns legacy of chemical engineering alumnus

Penn State joins Age-Friendly University Global Network

Things to Do at Penn State: April 24-May 15

University Libraries summer 2025 hours begin Sunday, May 11

How safe is the air to breathe? 50 million people in the US don't know

High-tech sticker can identify real human emotions

Can hormone therapy improve heart health in menopausal women?

Penn State football to hold 2025 Blue-White Game on April 26

Movin' On concert to impact parking and traffic on Friday, May 2

Penn State's ‘Night at the Museums' to be held at University Park campus May 1

Penn State Master Gardeners plant seeds for gardening success

Celebrate Earth Day with the Dr. Keiko Miwa Ross Student Farm  

Advocacy is crucial during Capital Day On Campus on April 25

Things to Do at Penn State: April 17-24

Foraging on the wing: How can ecologically similar birds live together?

Supporting our international community at Penn State

Students advocate for increased state funding during Capital Day in Harrisburg  

Election of trustees by alumni begins April 21

Photo contest: Share your best picture of spring at Penn State

We Are Weekend will unite Penn State community June 20-21 to kick off summer

Penn State mourns loss of world-renowned meteorologist Jenni Evans 

Forty-two graduate students recognized with University awards

'Roar Where You Are' on April 22 for the Nittany Lion's birthday

Cyclists, others traveling across campus urged to be predictable, visible

The Medical Minute: Getting ahead of head and neck cancer

Penn State announces 2025 University-wide undergraduate student awards

Fotis Sotiropoulos named Penn State’s executive vice president and provost following a national search

Three graduate students receive awards in 2025 Three Minute Thesis competition

Penn State men's hockey advances to first-ever Frozen Four in overtime thriller

Penn State to launch 2025 Sexual Misconduct Climate Survey

Hershey Medical Center first in Pennsylvania to offer new Parkinson’s treatment

Commonwealth Campus administrator retires after four decades of impact

Things to Do at Penn State: March 27-April 3

Q&A: What is the consumer price index? An economist explains

Capital Day offers all Penn Staters the chance to advocate for fair state funding

Penn State Vice President for Commonwealth Campuses Margo DelliCarpini to depart

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Around Campus

More research news

A debate continues among scientists over whether tree composition in forests in eastern North American historically have been influenced more by climate or by cultural burning, which is the intentional and controlled use of fire by Indigenous people to manage their environment. Now, a new study of southern New England forests by a team including a researcher from Penn State lends credence to the cultural burning hypothesis, suggesting that fire-tolerant vegetation — oak, hickory and pine — were significantly more abundant near Indigenous settlements over the last 5,000 years.

Cultural burning by Indigenous peoples increased oak in forests near settlements | Penn State University

A debate continues among scientists over whether tree composition in forests in eastern North American historically have been influenced more by climate or by cultural burning, which is the intentional and controlled use of fire by Indigenous people to manage their environment. Now, a new study of southern New England forests by a team including a researcher from Penn State lends credence to the cultural burning hypothesis, suggesting that fire-tolerant vegetation — oak, hickory and pine — were significantly more abundant near Indigenous settlements over the last 5,000 years.

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Cultural burning by Indigenous peoples increased oak in forests near settlements

A new study exploring how therapy dogs can create a safe, nonjudgmental environment for survivors of domestic violence in educational, therapeutic and courtroom settings was recently published posthumously on behalf of John R. Chapin, professor emeritus of communications at Penn State Beaver. The research highlights the ways therapy dogs, who are trained to provide emotional support to survivors, can reduce anxiety, foster trust and facilitate positive outcomes.

How do therapy dogs help domestic abuse survivors receiving support services? | Penn State University

A new study exploring how therapy dogs can create a safe, nonjudgmental environment for survivors of domestic violence in educational, therapeutic and courtroom settings was recently published posthumously on behalf of John R. Chapin, professor emeritus of communications at Penn State Beaver. The research highlights the ways therapy dogs, who are trained to provide emotional support to survivors, can reduce anxiety, foster trust and facilitate positive outcomes.

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How do therapy dogs help domestic abuse survivors receiving support services?

What do chickens and people with a common reproductive disorder have in common? More than one might think — and a widely-used diabetes medication might just be the surprising link.

Common diabetes drug helps chickens lay more eggs | Penn State University

What do chickens and people with a common reproductive disorder have in common? More than one might think — and a widely-used diabetes medication might just be the surprising link.

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Common diabetes drug helps chickens lay more eggs

Featured Research

Microscopic particles are useful in many areas of technology. These tiny helpers are often smaller than a grain of pollen, yet they promise many possibilities. Researchers at Penn State have developed new models to predict and control the motion of these particles in confined spaces, enhancing their potential for precise medical applications and environmental remediation.

Study: Tiny particles may help cure disease and clean up pollution

For years, lithium-ion batteries have powered everything from smartphones to electric vehicles. But their reliance on liquid electrolytes has raised significant safety concerns due to their instability, which can lead to fire hazards. Researchers at Penn State are now working on a safer and more reliable alternative: solid-state electrolytes (SSEs) for use in batteries that could revolutionize consumer electronics and electric vehicles.

Penn State scientists boost EV battery efficiency with ‘cold’ manufacturing method

Scientists, including researchers at Penn State, have discovered the perfect vacation spot: it's sun-soaked, has sandy beaches, sports gentle waves lapping rhythmically on the shore. But hold off on grabbing the sun lotion, because there's a catch—it's on ancient Mars.

Ancient mars once boasted 'vacation-style' beaches, study finds

Dairy isn’t the only food that’s good for bone health. Prunes may also protect bone structure and strength in postmenopausal women, according to a new study led by Penn State researchers

Penn State researchers find prunes may protect your bones

Vaccine refrigeration — which can be expensive and logistically challenging, but still needed — could become unnecessary, thanks to research from a Penn State team.

Vaccine refrigeration could become optional, thanks to Penn State team

A research team has discovered that by using a new method of "atomic spray painting," they can tweak the atomic structure of lead-free potassium niobate in order to enhance its ferroelectric properties.The study, created by a team led by Penn State researchers, explains how molecular beam epitaxy can be employed to deposit atomic layers onto a substrate to create thin films.

Penn State scientists make breakthrough discovery after 'atomic spray painting' experiment

New insights into bee movements and life cycles have been uncovered after Penn State researchers tracked the insects using tiny QR codes glued onto their backs.

Tiny QR codes help Penn State scientists track bee movements

Geese appear to understand when and where hunting takes place but are willing to risk the danger to stay close to resources and their primary habitats, according to a new study led by researchers at Penn State.

Nerves of steel: Canada geese don’t flee far from hunters, study finds

Researchers at the Penn State Extraterrestrial Intelligence (PSETI) Center have been awarded a three-year, $480,000 grant under the NASA Exoplanets Research Program to search for radio and laser signals from alien civilizations.

Penn State center awarded NASA grant to search for alien civilizations

Richard Alley, the Evan Pugh University Professor of Geosciences at Penn State, was one of 23 individuals and two organizations that received this year’s National Medal of Science award for his work studying historical climate change patterns.

Penn State professor receives National Medal of Science for climate research

State College community members and Penn State students are creating a paw-sitive impact on the lives of people with disabilities through service dog training. Roar for More, the State College chapter of Susquehanna Service Dogs, is celebrating 10 years of helping students and community members train puppies to be service dogs.

Service dog training group Roar For More celebrates 10 years of paw-sitivity

For the first time, researchers at Penn State and Columbia University have observed a type of quasiparticle that behaves in an unusual way. In one direction, it acts like it has no mass, zipping around as if it were made of pure energy. But turning another way, it carries mass, slowing down and resisting motion. This mysterious entity, called a semi-Dirac fermion, had appeared in theory about 16 years ago but had never been seen inside a real material.

Study: "Quasiparticle" that only has mass moving in one direction seen for the first time

Spanish explorers may have brought the first peach pits to North America, but Indigenous communities helped the ubiquitous summer fruit really take root, according to a study led by a researcher at Penn State.

Research explains how peaches spread across North America and the world

In an analysis of more than 35 million public posts containing links that were shared extensively on the social media platform between 2017 and 2020, Penn State researchers found that around 75% of the shares were made without the posters clicking the link first. Of these, political content from both ends of the spectrum was shared without clicking more often than politically neutral content.

Study: Reading beyond headline is rare for most on social media

For years, the medical community has stressed that being active makes you happier and healthier. But new research out of Penn State University suggests that even daily tasks, like walking regularly and doing chores, could help keep you—and your brain—young.

Walking could make your brain years younger, PSU study finds

New research led by Penn State shows that children who stick to a regular bedtime, falling asleep and waking up at the same time each day, have better control over their behavior and emotions, particularly during stressful situations or while collaborating with others.